Woman claims dog crashed her car

A dog left a trail of destruction after jumping into the family car and releasing the handbrake.

Ruby the Boxer dog managed to run down her owner, knock down a set of railings, smash into a neighbour's van and write-off two vehicles.

Owners Angela and Dave Tucker's troubles began when they parked the family's new Citroen Zantia [sic] outside their home on one of the steepest hills in Plymouth.

As Mrs Tucker opened the car door, three-year-old Ruby shot past her into the front passenger seat, knocking off the handbrake as she excitedly jumped about.

The car began rolling backwards downhill, dragging Mrs Tucker along with it.

Mother-of-two Mrs Tucker said: "All I could do was start running, as I tried to reach the handbrake. Ruby then sat in the driver's seat and kept looking at me in a vaguely expectant way with a big drooling grin on her face."

As Mrs Tucker frantically kept running along wedged between the door and the car, Mr Tucker came out of the house and joined in the pursuit along with the couple's other two Boxers, Jenny, three, and George, one.

By then the car had reached a speed of 20mph and travelled nearly a third of a mile towards the bend at the bottom of the hill.
Mrs Tucker, 42, was thrown to safety as the car began to arc round to the right.

She said: "As the car swerved I was thrown clear under the door. I lay in the road watching Ruby hurtle onwards. She negotiated the bend but hit the railings and then went smashing into our neighbour's van - which was a right-off [sic]."

Train engineer Mr Tucker, 43, and the dogs arrived at the scene to find Angela spreadeagled in the road and Ruby still in the front seat of the car, completely unharmed.

He said: "Both cars were a right-off [sic] and so were the railings but Ruby and I were okay. Our neighbour was marvellous about his van, very understanding."

Mrs Tucker, a carer, added: "At the scene the police said they might do Ruby for dangerous driving and not having any documentation but they let her off with a caution and so have we."

I reckon she's faking it; what are the odds of a dog 'accidently' depressing the safety button on the handbrake with sufficient force to release it at the same time as pushing the lever down?

And anyway, the highway code tells you to park with wheels turned towards the kerb and your car in reverse if you're facing down a steep hill, so it serves her right even if it is true.